Safe As Houses: New Alpha Protocol Walkthrough

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Obsidian have released a new very detailed video guiding you through various aspects of Alpha Protocol‘s Safe Houses. Showing off how the Safe Houses work, with all their various character, weapon, etc modifications, it explains how important these locations are. There’s your email, which lets you catch up on relationships, find extra work, and keep up with colleagues. There’s access to the black market Clearing House, where you can pick up new equipment. You can also customise and upgrade weapons and armour, and all sorts. It’s all below.

It’s also good to see some clips of the game in slightly less blue-grey washed out locations. You’ll also find some glimpses of combat, both ranged and melee. Well, just watch it, now I’ve told you everything that happens.

And below is part 1 from April, showing how the dynamic conversations work.

I actually thought the animations looked much better than the first video that was shown. It’s also pretty cool to see how much customization there is in the game. Although I’m sure someone will find the “best” combo and throw it in an FAQ, I generally like to think of who my character will be without worrying about “best” builds.

Obsidian really aren’t better than Bioware, they’ve pretty much just followed up Bioware. NWN to the sequal KOTOR to the sequal, and this combat and engine looks to have a distinct Mass Effect vibe.

Not to say they aren’t a great dev team, but Bioware trump them (and no you can’t say Obsidian are Black Isle so Fallout should be included, because they aren’t). Anyway, I’m not convinced about the dialogue system. For a number of reasons.

Firstly, if characters like certain approaches, surely its just a manner of taking each option until you find the one they like and then always using it thereafter?

I also don’t like RPG dialogue systems which don’t even tell you roughly what you’re going to say. The amount of times in Mass Effects system, I chose a choice and then character proceeded to say the line with a completely different reasoning than I thought of…….. Can’t even imagine what hes gonna say when the “Dialogue” choices are simple stances.

I mean you can hardly do multiple choice with them can you? So what are they there for? To choose the right option for specific characters? Well for the major characters you try until you find the “Right” one for their character type and for minor characters its just a game of Rock Paper Scissors as to how they’d react?

It’s in the Mass Effect engine, but it’s clearly a very original idea. I think he’s reffering more to the depth and ambiguity of theit writing (which is certainly right in the case of the KOTORs)

I think the idea is that your choices won’t just affect the one character, so going completely schitzo and just choosing the ‘right’ option every time isn’t on, you’ll have to pick sides. Even if it isn’t, I will, otherwise it’d be like only picking the options that give you the best reward, regardless of ‘good’ or ‘evil’ in any other RPG.

Finally, I always knew what I was going to say in Mass Effect, it seemed pretty clear, I’m surprised you had trouble.

“And welcome to round three hundred and sixty seven of ‘criticising games that aren’t out yet based on tiny amounts of information no-one could ever garner a reasonable conclusion from’”
And welcome to round three hundred and sixty seven of ‘blindly defending Obsidian despite them never having made anything but buggy messes’

They said things about armor and stuff being specific to what kind of role you play in the game, so I’m guessing some of that cosmetic stuff will play a part in stealth and things. It wouldn’t be a very hard concept to just start throwing stats on beards and turbans and stuff, the object is already there and created.

the player character’s personality seems severely bland – but most likely it feels a lot better when you’re at the wheel. or maybe i’m taking issue with having to play as someone else’s character. Hmm.

Eh, it sure doesn’t look like the next step in RPG evolution or something, but you gotta cut Obsidian some slack. I’ll wait till the game is out before crapping on the game, Obsidian have devolped some great games in the past.

The only thing I liked about this was the option to skill for shotguns. Shotguns are awesome. Always. Apart from that, who’d want to play as that babyface, even with the beard he looked like a fake tanned frat boy…

I am mildly excited by this game. KOTOR 2 is buggy and ugly, but I love it anyway, and I expect this will be the case with AP. I am enjoying this trend of Role Playing Games that actually involve some degree of Role Playing.

The “Lets Play KOTOR2” has changed my opinion about KOTOR2 and Obvisian. Now I really think “Obvisidian > Bioware” that Tworak comment.

The Mass Effect dialog system is a streamlined one, is slighty worst for historytelling, but since it make overal more sense, is slighty better. Obvisian could have used both, really, and make something great.

I am looking forward for this game because is Obvsidian. I am somewhat unconvinced about the graphics, but who cares.. this one will be awesome.

I love the Fury hulk-out. That looks like a fun thing to do. For some reason I think I might play this game as SOMETHING other than my standard “highly charismatic thiefy-type.” Running towards my enemies as a bare-fisted howling bearded lout somehow tickles my fancy here where it hasn’t before.

I believe I read somewhere that dialogue will be timed, and that you can’t just keep going around and around the dialogue tree until you get all of the information you want. Granted, you could probably save before you engage a character or something, and go back if you don’t get the result you want, but what fun is that?

This is actually the thing that really peaked (piqued?) my interest in the game—the idea of quick, irreversible decisions that can result in allies or enemies.

Firstly, if characters like certain approaches, surely its just a manner of taking each option until you find the one they like and then always using it thereafter?

That’s assuming that your first encounter doesn’t change the way they react to you for the rest of the game. :P Anyway, in another narrated video, they said that pissing a handler off can be just as rewarding as being friendly.

It sounds like they’re actually trying to make it a Role Playing game instead of a Dialogue Tree Gaming game. I hope they’re successful.

With anything there is the chance to “game” the system. Every RPG ever has the ability to just choose the obvious best answer for good and evil, this seems like it might be a little more fluid. Also, maybe I’m just naive or an idealist, but I try to actually follow the RP in the RPG and choose the answers I might normally choose, as if I were playing the role. Role playing you might even call it.

This conversation system reminds me of Fahrenheit, it worked quite well there. It sure did add a bit of tension.

Anyhow, not a big fan of the standard RPG conversation tree, so I understand why they are trying something new. At least it is not mass effect where the only real reason for “gut feeling” dialogue options was having less text to read, everything else was same old “pick all dialogue options till done”.

I would probably try to game the system by finding out how each handler wants to be treated, and then whenever I talk to them I choose every option in that category. That way, no one will dislike me all that much.

I imagine the tact you take with characters affects your standing with other characters, and not just that one. Besides, having certain handlers love you may not actually have the most favourable consequences in the long term.

“Gaming the system” is surely missing the point of playing an RPG innit. I know I’ll aim firstly to make the decisions I’d like/chose the way I’d want to play, rather than aiming to please some non-existing ai entities. Aside from that, I’m not even sure I’ll get it – I haven’t been overly impressed..

When mr. walkthrough said “Your weapon is choice”, I pessimistically added “insofar those choices are related to how you outfit your weapons, neh.” Those are my thoughts on the matter, but I hope for the best anyways.

This is one game whose hype is assuredly unwarranted and a more cautious appraisal is necessary, but what’s that? Chris Avellone is working on this game?! {in best Clay Davis voice} Shiiiiiiiiiit, all sins are forgiven! Seriously though, this has promising and odious elements, sure the choice seems nice but the game will insult your intelligence (the wholly immersion breaking visual pointers that were in Mass Effect -and seem to be replicated here- to highlight the spare usable objects/containers, which appear from 20 metres away is one such thing). Also the magical powers your secret agent can receive seem highly arcade-y.

Also Chris Allevone seems kind of desperate for big studio dollars, that or Sega booth babes.

I’m sooooooooooooooo excited. Chris Avellone’s presence gave me faith at first, and with each walkthrough video I increasingly get the feeling my faith will be rewarded.

Also, KOTOR II was the best story ever told in the Star Wars Expanded Universe, period. It matches the mythic storytelling of the original trilogy, albeit with a more mature (truly mature, not just DARKER AND EDGIER) twist.

This is looking pretty damn good, as others here have said. They might want to reconsider the shoulder-shaking animation the character does in the video all the time, though. It looks like he’s sobbing. AND MAYBE HE IS, INSIDE?